Imagine a consumer in a store, item in hand, about to make a purchase. Then, something happens that causes them to suddenly change their mind and walk out, leaving the item they were going to buy behind.
Whether the buying is being done in-store or online, the consumer experience, as seen as a start-to-finish journey, is fraught with potholes, detours, distractions and delays that at any moment for myriad reasons — seen and unseen — can turn a good thing into a problem that can potentially last forever.
As it is, PYMNTS data show that nearly 1 in 4 consumers say they’ve been in this kind of situation and chose to abandon purchases because they felt a transaction took too long, and that’s just one of a dozen issues that drive retailers crazy and keep the CX consultancy business thriving.
But the good news is that this rocky retail road, so to speak, is also a two-way street that routinely turns good purchase experiences into deeper brand and customer loyalty.
According to PYMNTS research, one key area that companies can address is by changing what consumers’ payment interactions look and feel like at the finish line, where swift seamlessness arguably matters most.
Can three pop-up screens when someone’s about to buy something be reduced to one? Can the process a consumer needs to follow to complete a transaction be more user-friendly? Can a lengthy process of someone needing to get out their credit card, enter in the number by hand, cross off numerous security checks, have an access code sent to their phone to confirm it’s them, and the like, be done differently?
One solution is for retailers to put their consumer hats on and go through the act of purchasing on their websites, just like a consumer would. Perhaps through a focus group, perhaps or an informal internal survey. Then, document emotional reactions and pain points. Do you feel this weird blanket of anxiety over the process or do you get the warm and fuzzies instead? Look for patterns and then work to address them. These emotional reactions are worth paying careful attention to because they represent the core of consumer trust.
When seemingly small problems are smoothed out, it makes a big difference. For instance, consider Verizon and Mastercard’s announcement to work together on tightening up a slow and bogged down consumer payment process. Their solution? Adding 5G into the mix because of its ability to process larger amounts of data faster and slash transaction times by up to 70%. This means lots of time saved and more transactions made, which in turn, flow directly to the top and bottom lines.
Just as some people enjoy physically walking into a luxury store to buy a designer bag because of the exceptional “experience” (champagne, personal attention, being able to try on items and get live feedback from stylish in-person associates, and so on), such is true for greater retail. When the experience of making a purchase is easy and accessible, this is half the battle.
Ask Customers if They Want Better Service
On that note, it is clearly critical to get back to basics and examine what frustrates and delights consumers most. One way to do this, at scale, is to collect and analyze reams of data. The common caveat, however, is to make sure consumers don’t feel taken advantage of because the confidential or personal information they provided was sold to another party or used to put them on email lists they never signed up for.
When consumers feel taken advantage of because their data wasn’t used how they wanted, they’ll probably bail.
“[Consumers] will walk away, and they will move on, and you will not get them back,” Mastercard Executive Vice President of Security and Cyber Innovation John Gerber told PYMNTS.
Asking permission, alongside an offer for improved service, tailored results and customized offers, is essential.
That said, keeping a consumer’s information safe and using it ethnically and respectfully in a way the average consumer would feel comfortable with isn’t just a point-of-sale focus. It’s a focus for the entire sale life cycle, from a consumer first entering onto a site or walking into a store, continuing up until they’ve purchased what they need. Even if a consumer decides to ask for a refund or wishes to return an item, trust must not dissipate even in this stage.
Security should be woven through the entire consumer experience, right up to the hypothetical return of an unwanted item, PYMNTS reported.
This security, after all, is perhaps a pseudonym for “trust.” At the end of the day, to ensure consumers who want to make a purchase do so, figure out how to make the payment experience enjoyable. This is arguably what consumers want most. Bells and whistles, not so much. Genuine and smooth experiences? Definitely.
“Through it all, consumers are looking for simplified experiences to get the basic things in life done before we tackle the new, exciting features — and get our washing machines talking to the printer and the fridge ordering eggs automatically when they’re running low,” wrote PYMNTS.
Ultimately, it’s that one-to-one, personalized engagement that draws customers in as a strategic advantage and keeps them from running away.
Innovation in this space is about getting back to basics, asking what the consumer experience looks like, and ironing out issues so frustration can be transformed into delight.
We’re always on the lookout for opportunities to partner with innovators and disruptors.
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